Just got off the phone, and while it had been rumored for some time, it sounds like State Representative Larry Zikmund is IN as a candidate for the State Senate seat in his District (D14) being vacated by State Senator Deb Soholt.
Soholt is precluded from running for the State Senate as a result of term limits, leaving the GOP in need of a candidate.
The only down side of Zikmund jumping chambers is that it represents that the GOP will need to recruit 2 candidates for the House, with Democrat State Representative Erin Healy occupying the other seat. Word is that it won’t be for a lack of interest, with people starting to bring up that they have an interest.
Only 3 months (and one day) until political candidate petitions can start circulating. Get ready for a wild ride!
Zikmund will be the most experienced candidate. Expect Rep. Healy will run against him, but who knows?
Won’t be surprised if Senator Soholt runs for the house & wins. She’s very popular w/ D14 voters.
I think you nailed it. Looking forward to a spirited election in D14!
Would an actual conservative please run in District 14? Tyler Swanger is the only one in the recent past who fits that description who has done so.
Democrat darling Erin Healy is (by South Dakota standards) extremely liberal and that Deb Soholt is more of a centrist, but I thought Zikmund was conservative – at least in the old-school sense.
On the whole, D14 voters aren’t right wing conservatives. That’s one reason Deb Soholt succeeded. A hard-line, firebrand conservative might amass 4800-4900 enthusiastic votes, but that’s too few to win the general. I suspect Billie Sutton defeated Gov. Noem in D14. Is Tom Holmes running again?
I was told Tom Holmes, Deb Soholt, Dave Zimbeck, Tyler Swanger and Brad Lindworm will all be considering a run in the house.. Sounds like it will be interesting.